Vibrio vulnificus Secretes an Insulin-degrading Enzyme That Promotes Bacterial Proliferation in Vivo.

We describe a novel insulin-degrading enzyme, SidC, that contributes to the proliferation of the human bacterial pathogen Vibrio vulnificus in a mouse model. SidC is phylogenetically distinct from other known insulin-degrading enzymes and is expressed and secreted specifically during host infection. Purified SidC causes a significant decrease in serum insulin levels and an increase in blood glucose levels in mice. A comparison of mice infected with wild type V. vulnificus or an isogenic sidC-deletion strain showed that wild type bacteria proliferated to higher levels. Additionally, hyperglycemia leads to increased proliferation of V. vulnificus in diabetic mice. Consistent with these observations, the sid operon was up-regulated in response to low glucose levels through binding of the cAMP-receptor protein (CRP) complex to a region upstream of the operon. We conclude that glucose levels are important for the survival of V. vulnificus in the host, and that this pathogen uses SidC to actively manipulate host endocrine signals, making the host environment more favorable for bacterial survival and growth.

Utilization of Leek (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) for inulinase production.

Inulinase production by Rhodotorula glutinis was carried out in this study, using leek (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) as an alternative carbon source due to its high inulin content and easy availability. Taguchi orthogonal array (OA) design of experiment (DOE) was used to optimize fermentation conditions. For this purpose, five influential factors (leek concentration, pH, incubation temperature, agitation speed, and fermentation time) related to inulinase production were selected at four convenient levels. The results showed that maximum inulinase activity was obtained as 30.89 U/mL, which was close to the predicted result (30.24 U/mL). To validate the obtained results, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed. Consequently, leek has a great potential as an effective and economical carbon source for inulinase production, and the use of Taguchi DOE enhanced enzyme activity about 2.87-fold when compared with the unoptimized condition.

Retinoblastoma protein co-purifies with proteasomal insulin-degrading enzyme: implications for cell proliferation control.

Previous investigations on proteasomal preparations containing insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE; EC 3.4.24.56) have invariably yielded a co-purifying protein with a molecular weight of about 110kDa. We have now found both in MCF-7 breast cancer and HepG2 hepatoma cells that this associated molecule is the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (RB). Interestingly, the amount of RB in this protein complex seemed to be lower in HepG2 vs. MCF-7 cells, indicating a higher (cytoplasmic) protein turnover in the former vs. the latter cells. Moreover, immunofluorescence showed increased nuclear localization of RB in HepG2 vs. MCF-7 cells. Beyond these subtle differences between these distinct tumor cell types, our present study more generally suggests an interplay between RB and IDE within the proteasome that may have important growth-regulatory consequences.

Insulin degradation by human skeletal muscle.

Although previous studies from this and other laboratories have extensively characterized insulin degrading activity in animal tissues, little information has been available on insulin responsive human tissues. The present study describes the insulin degrading activity in skeletal muscle from normal human subjects. Fractionation of a sucrose homogenate of skeletal muscle demonstrated that 97% of the total neutral insulin degrading activity was in the 100 000 x g supernatant with no detectable glutathione-insulin transhydrogenase activity. The 100000 x g pellet contained 85% of the total acid protease activity and all the glutathione-insulin transhydrogenase activity. The soluble insulin degrading activity was purified 1400-fold by ammonium sulfate fractionation, molecular exclusion, ion-exchange and affinity chromatography. Enzymatic activity was determined by measuring an increase in trichloroacetic acid-soluble products of the 125I-labeled hormone substrates. The purified enzyme showed marked proteolytic specificity for insulin with a Km of 1.63 X 10(-7)M (+/-0.32) and was competitively inhibited by proinsulin and glucagon with Ki values of 2.1 X 10(-6)M and 4.0 X 10(-6)M, respectively. This insulin protease exhibited a pH optimum between 7 and 8, a molecular weight of 120000 and was capable of degrading glucagon. Inhibition studies demonstrated that a sulfhydryl group is essential for activity. Molecular exclusion chromatography of [125I]insulin degraded products revealed a time-dependent increase in degradation products with molecular weights intermediate between intact insulin and iodotyrosine. These studies demonstrate that the major enzymatic system responsible for insulin degrading activity is a soluble cysteine protease capable of rapidly metabolizing insulin under physiologic conditions.

Purification and characterization of insulin-degrading enzyme from pig skeletal muscle.

An enzyme capable of degrading insulin was purified from pig skeletal muscle and studied for its characteristics. Purification of the enzyme was successfully achieved by a combination of ammonium sulfate precipitation, chromatography of Bio-Gel P-200 and DEAE-cellulose, and, finally, ampholine isoelectrofocusing. The enzyme obtained showed 741-fold purification in its activity and a single band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme degraded insulin proteolytically and was sulfhydryl dependent. The Km for insulin was 70 nM. Proinsulin behaved as a competitive inhibitor for insulin degradation; its Ki was 320 nM. Glucagon was also proteolytically degraded, whereas number of other peptides, including A and B chains of insulin, were not appreciably affected by this enzyme. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be 135,000 by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 and 60,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This enzyme and lysosomal enzymes extracted from rat liver were shown to be different, judging from their optimal pH for insulin degradation and substrate specificity. These studies demonstrate the presence of an insulin-degrading enzyme in pig skeletal muscle and suggest that this enzyme is identical to rat insulin protease in most of its biochemical properties.

[125I]-insulin metabolism by the rat liver in vivo: evidence that a neutral thiol-protease mediates rapid intracellular insulin degradation.

The subcellular site where insulin is degraded by rat hepatocytes in vivo is controversial. While several potential insulin-degrading enzyme systems, each with its own characteristic cellular location, are known to exist in the liver, questions remain about which of them participates in the degradation of physiologic doses of insulin. These studies examine the proteases that degrade physiologic doses of [125I]-insulin in vivo to determine (1) when and where initial degradation occurs, and (2) which of the potential degradative enzymes is active. Following injection into the mesenteric veins of male rats, intact [125I]-insulin and its labeled degradation products were analysed by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) of biopsy homogenates. [125I]-insulin was rapidly degraded in vivo; the t 1/2 of degradation was approximately 2.7 minutes. To test for extracellular protease activity, an isolated perfused liver system was employed. [125I]-insulin (or [125I]-glucagon) uptake was controlled by changing the temperature of the perfusion medium. Five minutes after [125I]-insulin injection, surface-bound label was recovered in an acidic (pH 3.5) wash. In perfusion at 15 degrees C, both the internalization and degradation of [125I]-insulin were inhibited; 7.2% of unbound hormone was degraded and 5.1% of surface-bound insulin was degraded. Only 11.4% of unbound insulin and 17.4% of surface-bound insulin were degraded at 35 degrees C. In contrast, 95.5% of unbound glucagon and 89.9% of surface-bound glucagon were degraded at 35 degrees C. Thus, although glucagon degradation occurs at the sinusoidal plasmalemma of perfused livers, the same membrane does not mediate the rapid degradation of insulin observed in vivo. Analysis of the RP-HPLC [125I]-insulin elution profiles from liver biopsy homogenates, and comparison of them to profiles produced by purified proteases, suggested that insulin protease is responsible for most hepatic degradation of physiologic doses of insulin. Some cathepsin D-like activity was also observed in vivo, confirming that two pathways exist for insulin metabolism. The time course over which insulin was degraded was more rapid than previous studies in vitro would have predicted. This suggests that more insulin was receptor-bound at the time of its initial degradation, and that the active protease was soluble and was introduced into endocytic peripheral endosomes within seconds after their formation.

ATP inhibits insulin-degrading enzyme activity.

We studied the ability of ATP to inhibit in vitro the degrading activity of insulin-degrading enzyme. The enzyme was purified from rat skeletal muscle by successive chromatographic steps. The last purification step showed two bands at 110 and 60 kDa in polyacrylamide gel. The enzyme was characterized by its insulin degradation activity, the substrate competition of unlabeled to labeled insulin, the profile of enzyme inhibitors, and the recognition by a specific antibody. One to 5 mM ATP induced a dose-dependent inhibition of insulin degradation (determined by trichloroacetic acid precipitation and insulin antibody binding). Inhibition by 3 mM adenosine 5'-diphosphate, adenosine 5'-monophosphate, guanosine 5'-triphosphate, pyrophosphate, beta-gamma-methyleneadenosine 5'-triphosphate, adenosine 5'-O-(3 thiotriphosphate), and dibutiryl cyclic adenosine 5'-monophosphate was 74%, 4%, 38%, 46%, 65%, 36%, and 0%, respectively, of that produced by 3 mM ATP. Kinetic analysis of ATP inhibition suggested an allosteric effect as the plot of 1/v (insulin degradation) versus ATP concentration was not linear and the Hill coefficient was more than 1 (1.51 and 2.44). The binding constant for allosteric inhibition was KiT = 1.5 x 10(-7) M showing a decrease of enzyme affinity induced by ATP. We conclude that ATP has an inhibitory effect on the insulin degradation activity of the enzyme.

Characterization of insulinase from mammalian and non-mammalian livers.

The Michaelis constants (Km's) and maximum reaction velocities (Vmax's) for the degradation of beef insulin by livers from frogs, guinea pigs, rats, a rabbit, a dog and a pig were determined. The Km's for mammalian livers appear to be species-dependent and range from 0.25 microM to 0.65 microM. The Km for frog liver was somewhat lower, averaging 0.13 microM. The Km is independent of animal age, but the enzyme concentrations (Vmax) were greatly reduced in the fetal guinea pig and 3 day rat compared to the adult livers. There appears to be no relation between Km and the chemical dissimilarity between beef insulin and endogenous insulin of the species, since guinea pig liver insulinase had a Km (0.50 microM) intermediate between dog (0.47 microM) and pig (0.65 microM) liver insulinase although guinea pig insulin has a markedly different amino acid sequence and biologic activity.

Purification and some important characters of extracellular inulinase of Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler.

Protein precipitate of cell-free dialysate of extracellular inulinase (2,1-beta-fructan fructanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.7) of A. alternata was maximally obtained by methanol. Such protein was fractionated by using 2-step column chromatography on Sephadex G150 and DEAE-cellulose. The partially purified enzyme had activity of 81 x 10(3) U/mg protein, with a yield of 69% of the original activity and the fold of purification was 62. Optimum temperature and pH for the activity of the purified enzyme were found to be 55 degrees C and 4.5, respectively. The enzyme was found to be stable up to 55 degrees C and in pH range of 4 to 5. Ba2+ and Ca2+ were found to stimulate the enzyme activity while Cu2+, Fe3+, Hg2+, and iodoacetate were recorded as strong inhibitors. T(1/2) of the enzyme was estimated to be two weeks and its apparent Km was calculated to be 0.066 M. The enzyme recorded hydrolyzing activity against sucrose and raffinose recording I/S ratio of 0.50. Molecular mass of the enzyme preparation was estimated by gel filtration and found to be 115 +/- 5 kDa.

Partial characterization of inulinases obtained by submerged and solid-state fermentation using agroindustrial residues as substrates: a comparative study.

Inulinase belongs to an important class of enzymes as it can be used to produce high-fructose syrups by enzymatic hydrolysis of inulin and fructooligosaccharides, which has been used as functional food. This work aimed to carry out a partial characterization of the crude enzymatic extract of two different inulinases, obtained by solid-state fermentation (SSF) and submerged fermentation (SmF), using agroindustrial residues as substrates. The crude enzymatic extract obtained by SmF showed an optimal pH and temperature for hydrolytic activity of 4.5 and 55 degrees Celsius, respectively; and that obtained by SSF conducted to optimal pH and temperature of 5.0 and 55 degrees Celsius, respectively. Both enzymes presented high thermostability, with a D value of 230.4 h and 123.1 h for SmF and SSF, respectively. The inulinase produced by SmF showed highest stability at pH 4.4, while inulinase obtained by SSF was more stable at pH 4.8. The results showed that inulinase obtained by SmF is less susceptible to pH effect and the inulinase obtained by SSF is more resistant to higher temperatures.

Characteristics of an inulinase produced by Bacillus subtilis 430A, a strain isolated from the rhizosphere of Vernonia herbacea (Vell Rusby).

Bacillus subtilis 430A, isolated from the Vernonia herbacea (Vell Rusby) rhizosphere, produced an exocellular inulinase that fits the requirements for the production of syrups on an industrial scale. The partially purified enzyme, obtained by acetone precipitation, displayed a higher specificity for inulin (Km, 8 mM) than for sucrose (56 mM) and a total invertase/total inulase ratio of 0.62. In addition, it is stable at an optimal temperature of 45 to 50 degrees C for at least 7 h and is inhibited by the end product, fructose, at 14 mM.

Characterization of an intracellular insulin-degrading enzyme in human erythrocytes.

Using conventional techniques of ammonium sulfate fractionation and Sephadex gel column chromatography, insulin-degrading enzyme was partially purified from lysate of human erythrocytes. The enzymatic activity was measured by the trichloroacetic acid precipitation method. Compared to trypsin, the enzyme was highly specific for insulin. The apparent molecular weight of the enzyme was 160,000 Da, the optimum pH was the 7.4 to 7.8 range, and the Km value for insulin for the partially purified enzyme was 162 nM. Bacitracin and N-ethylmaleimide were potent inhibitors, while chloroquine, ethylenediaminetetraacetate, antipain, and soybean trypsin inhibitor failed to inhibit the activity of the enzyme. Like most nucleated cells, human erythrocytes not only have the membranal insulin receptors, but also possess the cytosolic specific insulin-degrading enzyme. Insulin internalization and degradation are shown to be due to the receptor and the enzyme acting in concert as in many nucleated cells. Anucleated erythrocytes have both these entities for possible internalization and degradation of insulin.

The identification of a major product of the degradation of insulin by 'insulin proteinase' (EC 3.4.22.11).

We have studied a major product in the degradation of insulin by insulin proteinase (EC 3.4.22.11). Semisynthetic [[3H]PheB1]insulin and [[3H]GlyA1]insulin were used in the experiments. The structure of the fragment was deduced by observing the chromatographic and electrophoretic migration of the label both before and after further digestion of the fragment with proteinases of known specificity, with and without additional treatment by performic acid. Ambiguities were resolved by studying the behaviour of authentic fragments of known structure, isolated and characterized after digestion of intact insulin by proteinases of known specificity. We conclude that a major product in the degradation of insulin by insulin proteinase consists of a truncated section of the A chain, joined by the disulphide bridge B7-A7 to a truncated section of the B chain. The A-chain fragment consists most probably of residues A1-A13, and the B-chain fragment consists most probably of residues B1-B9. The similarity between this fragment and that found by other workers when insulin is degraded by intact hepatocytes is significant in the light of proposals that insulin proteinase is a possible participant in the physiological degradation of insulin by target cells.

Affinity purification of insulin-degrading enzyme and its endogenous inhibitor from rat liver.

A metallothiol protease called insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) seems to be implicated in insulin metabolism to terminate the response of cells to hormone, as well as in other biological functions, including muscle differentiation, regulation of growth factor levels, and antigen processing. In order to obtain highly pure and biologically active IDE, we have developed an immunoaffinity method using a monoclonal antibody to this enzyme (9B12). When the cytosolic fraction of rat liver was first applied to a 9B12-coupled Affi-Gel 10 column, more than 97% of the insulin-degrading activity was absorbed. Among various kinds of buffers successfully eluting the enzyme, only the buffer with a high pH (pH 11) could retain the full biological activity of this enzyme. IDE was further purified via two steps of chromatography using Mono Q anion exchange and Superose 12 molecular sieve columns. The final preparation showed a single band at 110 kDa on reduced sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). In the eluate from the immunoaffinity column, the inhibitory activity associated with the enzyme was also observed. To better recover this endogenous inhibitor, heat-treated cytosolic fraction was fractionated by ammonium sulfate precipitation and applied to the immunoaffinity column on which IDE had been adsorbed. Then, IDE and its inhibitor could be co-eluted with pH 11 as a complex form. After heat treatment of this fraction, the inhibitor was further purified using the same series of chromatography as IDE to more than 20,000-fold; it showed a 14 kDa band on SDS-PAGE. It inhibited both the insulin degradation by IDE in a competitive manner and the cross-linking of 125I-insulin to IDE. Highly purified IDE and the endogenous inhibitor will be useful tools for better understanding the various biological functions of this enzyme.

Identification and isolation of a cytosolic proteolytic complex containing insulin degrading enzyme and the multicatalytic proteinase.

The insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) is the first recognized member of a new class of metalloproteinases. Studies on the purification and the properties of this enzyme have led to divergent results and conclusions from different laboratories. The present manuscript suggests that many of the divergent results may be due to the interaction of this enzyme with other proteins as part of a proteolytic complex. IDE co-isolates with the multicatalytic proteinase (MCP) during a wide variety of purification approaches including affinity chromatography and conventional purification approaches. Ion exchange chromatography will partially or completely separate IDE and MCP. The SDS-PAGE protein bands at various purification steps suggest the presence of a cytosolic proteolytic complex containing IDE, MCP and other unidentified components and raise the possibility of a functional interaction among these proteins.

Identification of the metal associated with the insulin degrading enzyme.

Insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) is a thiol-dependent metalloendoprotease that is responsible for initiation of cellular insulin degradation. However, its exact mode of action and the factors controlling it are poorly understood. Since IDE is a metal requiring enzyme, we have examined which metal(s) is(are) endogenously associated with it. Using neutron activation analysis, we studied the metal content of a partially purified enzyme from three different tissues: rat skeletal muscle, rat liver, and human placenta. Our results indicate that zinc and manganese are associated with the enzyme with approximately 10 times more zinc as manganese being present. These results suggest that one or both of these two metals are endogenously associated with this enzyme and are a means of controlling the enzyme's activity.

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is a high-affinity substrate for rat insulin-degrading enzyme.

A cytosolic protein specifically binding to and degrading atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was purified from rat brain homogenate. Based on partial amino acid sequences and enzymatic properties, this protein with an apparent molecular mass of 112 kDa has been identified as the rat insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE). In addition to the known substrates, insulin and transforming-growth-factor alpha IDE binds also with high affinity (apparent Kd 60 nM) to ANP. Competition studies with structural variants of ANP demonstrate that both the C terminus and the disulfide loop of the molecule are essential for high-affinity binding. The data suggest that IDE might be involved in the cellular processing and/or metabolic clearance of ANP.

Characterization and partial purification of an insulinase from Neurospora crassa.

An insulin-binding metal- and thiol-dependent proteinase has been purified 1491-fold from high speed cytosolic fractions of the fungus Neurospora crassa. This enzyme resembles insulin-degrading enzymes (insulinases) present in mammalian cells and in Drosophila melanogaster in the following ways: (i) it degrades radiolabeled insulin with a specificity similar to that of rat muscle insulinase, as demonstrated by HPLC analysis of the degradation products; (ii) it is inhibited by bacitracin, EDTA, 1,10-phenanthroline, and the sulfhydryl-reactive compounds N-ethylmaleimide and p-chloromercuribenzoate, but not by inhibitors of serine proteases or by lysosomal protease inhibitors. Cross-linking with 125I-insulin labels a band of ca. 120 kDa, and several smaller bands which may represent degradation products. The N. crassa insulinase is stimulated by Mn2+ and strongly inhibited by Zn2+; Mn2+ can also reactivate the enzyme after inhibition by EDTA, but Zn2+ is ineffective. The N. crassa protein differs in this regard from mammalian and insect insulinases which are generally activated by both Mn2+ and Zn2+. This finding extends the apparent evolutionary conservation of these metal- and thiol-dependent proteases into the microbial realm.

A direct inhibitory effect of insulin on a cytosolic proteolytic complex containing insulin-degrading enzyme and multicatalytic proteinase.

The insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) and the multicatalytic proteinase (MCP) can be isolated as components of a cytosolic proteolytic complex. IDE is the primary enzyme involved in cellular degradation of insulin, and insulin has been shown to interact with cytosolic IDE. MCP is believed to be important in non-ubiquitin pathways of cellular protein degradation. Insulin has a dose- and time-dependent inhibitory effect on MCP degradation of N-succinyl-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (LLVY), a substrate for MCP. Proinsulin also inhibits LLVY degradation in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of insulin is immediate as measured in a continuously monitored assay of LLVY degradation. Purification of the IDE-MCP complex using a variety of approaches, including affinity and conventional chromatography, retains the insulin effect on LLVY degradation as long as the complex remains intact. After ion-exchange chromatography, which separates IDE and MCP, insulin no longer has an inhibitory effect. Recombination of purified IDE and MCP does not restore the effect of insulin, but inclusion of additional components from the ion-exchange column does. These results support the existence of a functional cytosolic complex that contains IDE and MCP. Insulin interacts with IDE and alters the activity of MCP, suggesting a functional relationship between these two components and a mechanism for an intracellular action of insulin.

Insulin-degrading enzyme regulates extracellular levels of amyloid beta-protein by degradation.

Excessive cerebral accumulation of the 42-residue amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) is an early and invariant step in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Many studies have examined the cellular production of Abeta from its membrane-bound precursor, including the role of the presenilin proteins therein, but almost nothing is known about how Abeta is degraded and cleared following its secretion. We previously screened neuronal and nonneuronal cell lines for the production of proteases capable of degrading naturally secreted Abeta under biologically relevant conditions and concentrations. The major such protease identified was a metalloprotease released particularly by a microglial cell line, BV-2. We have now purified and characterized the protease and find that it is indistinguishable from insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE), a thiol metalloendopeptidase that degrades small peptides such as insulin, glucagon, and atrial natriuretic peptide. Degradation of both endogenous and synthetic Abeta at picomolar to nanomolar concentrations was completely inhibited by the competitive IDE substrate, insulin, and by two other IDE inhibitors. Immunodepletion of conditioned medium with an IDE antibody removed its Abeta-degrading activity. IDE was present in BV-2 cytosol, as expected, but was also released into the medium by intact, healthy cells. To confirm the extracellular occurrence of IDE in vivo, we identified intact IDE in human cerebrospinal fluid of both normal and Alzheimer subjects. In addition to its ability to degrade Abeta, IDE activity was unexpectedly found be associated with a time-dependent oligomerization of synthetic Abeta at physiological levels in the conditioned media of cultured cells; this process, which may be initiated by IDE-generated proteolytic fragments of Abeta, was prevented by three different IDE inhibitors. We conclude that a principal protease capable of down-regulating the levels of secreted Abeta extracellularly is IDE.